“In a nutshell, what augmented reality does is provide you with an information overlay for your daily life. In [Vernor] Vinge’s latest novel “Rainbows End,” the scifi author and computer scientist imagines a world where everybody has computers networked into their glasses and clothing.

“These wearable computers allow people to do things like google information straight into their eyeballs while chatting on the street corner – or project a map overlay on the street in front of them, labeling every store. Or turn the local vacant lot into a wonderland filled with Pokemon characters ready to do battle. This is an augmented reality scenario. Now our technology can actually do this, using smart phones as a crude mobile interface.”

The combination of GPS technology, a broadband connection, cellular tower triangulation and now a compass integration means these mobile phones could ultimately be highly accurate when determining a user’s orientation, location and direction.

Beyond new interfaces, augmented reality allows for a new layer of location information that could help fuel more mobile crowdsourcing, collaboration, gaming and more.